Daisy Duke, Southern Belle

Daisy Duke, was 1/3 of the mischievous cousins portrayed on the Dukes of Hazzard sitcom, which first aired in 1979. She was played by the beautiful Catherine Bach. She and the other 2/3 of the trio, Bo Duke and Luke Duke, regularly wreaked havoc in the small, rural town of Hazzard, Georgia where they lived on a farm with their Uncle Jesse Duke. The Duke boys were notorious for finding trouble although their intentions were mostly admirable. They were Robin Hood-like characters always trying to thwart County Commissioner, Boss Hogg’s dishonest schemes and in turn, helped people in need. One thing we could always count on was that their iconic car, the General Lee and Daisy were usually involved in some way.

As the story went, the three cousins were orphaned and sent to live with their Uncle Jesse. Daisy worked as a waitress at the Boar’s Nest, a local watering hole, owned by Boss Hogg. With Hazzard being a small town, it was pretty much one of the only social gathering places around. Although her character was a waitress, Daisy aspired to be so much more; a singer/songwriter and a journalist.

Daisy Duke was an outgoing, curvy, adventurous and most often skimpily clad Southern belle; somewhat of a conflict. She usually meant well but was always finding herself in some sort of pickle because she, like her cousins, endeavored to do the “right thing.” She had that down-home, innocent look about her but was quite capable of coming through in a pinch! She was well known for her superior sharpshooting, horseback riding and archery abilities to name a few. At times, she rivaled Bo and Luke with her driving abilities. She was known to have had a Plymouth Road Runner and a Jeep throughout the series. She was the ultimate tomboy and looked oh, so cute doing it!

Although Daisy could play coy and naïve at times, she had an energetic and outgoing personality. She always had men trying to woo her and win her affection but she just couldn’t be tied down like that. Daisy was good at reeling them in and letting them go! She was the ultimate tease, especially if there was an ulterior motive involved. Unfortunately, Deputy Enos Strate had a running infatuation with Daisy that was never reciprocated.

In the course of her employment at the Eagle’s Nest, she was exposed to just about everyone in town including Boss Hogg. Because he was usually the one at the center of the conflict in each episode, Daisy was constantly eavesdropping on private conversations and shared the information with her cousins. A little information from Daisy, and a plan was hatched!

Now, any smart criminal would do away with an employee that leaked information and constantly betrayed him. In fact, just the connection to the Duke clan would have been enough for some employers. The fact is that Daisy landed herself fired a few times but always ended up getting her job back. This, despite the fact that she made no apologies for her allegiance to her family!

Daisy appeared in all but one episode of The Dukes of Hazzard. Producers originally had a little something different in mind for her character. Catherine Bach asked permission to bring her own costume to the audition for the role and they were pleasantly surprised when she showed up in those short shorts! Although producers loved the look, they were afraid it might be a little too racy. Throwing all caution to the wind, they took a chance on it anyway. Bach is responsible for what we still refer to, today, as “Daisy Dukes.” She never let us down and definitely kept the viewers tuned in.

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Rebeka grew up in the 1960’s & 1970’s and has always subscribed to the theory that a positive attitude will take you far! She is a wife and mother of 3 with a fun-loving spirit, believing that family and relationships are invaluable.